Teachers should carry stun guns, former York County sheriff now SC lawmaker says

Retired York Co. sheriff, state legislator: teachers can carry Tasers instead of guns

Retired York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant, who now serves in the South Carolina House of Representatives, says teachers could carry Tasers instead of guns, as some lawmakers have suggested. Bryant said the stun guns would be a non-lethal way for te

By

Up Next

Retired York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant, who now serves in the South Carolina House of Representatives, says teachers could carry Tasers instead of guns, as some lawmakers have suggested. Bryant said the stun guns would be a non-lethal way for te

By

LAKE WYLIE

A former York County sheriff, who is now a state legislator, said he has an idea that may help save the lives of students and teachers if a gunman entered a school.

S.C. Rep. Bruce Bryant, R-York, who served 45 years in law enforcement, the last 20 of them as York County sheriff, said he arming teachers with tasers would be an alternative to arming them with guns.

“Until we get a handle on this, until we come up with the best solution that we can come up with in the Statehouse, I would support any school district in South Carolina arming all of their teachers with tasers,” Bryant said. “A taser is a less lethal weapon.”

Bryant suggested the York County Sheriff’s Office “would be willing to instruct the teachers on tasers and how to use them and demonstrate them.”

Digital Access for only $0.99

Even if a student took the taser from a teacher and tried to use it, “the student is not going to kill anybody,” he said.

“If it got into the wrong hands and they shoot someone with it, it is just going to incapacitate him for just a few minutes,” Bryant said, adding he does not believe banning weapons, such as the AR-15, would curb mass shootings.

“There are some answers out there that we may need to look at other than just jumping the gun and start trying to ban this weapon and ban that weapon,” said Bryant, who suggested teachers who carry weapons would need to be trained to use them.

“I don’t want to see a weapon on a teacher with no training that is not familiar with when to shoot, when not to shoot,” he said.

Bryant said existing gun laws should be enforced.

“Maybe we need to slow down the process,” he said, adding a “rapid reporting system” would alert law enforcement to people with mental illness who are “hell bent on doing harm to someone.”